The British Canadian Business Association is coming to Calgary, led by Miriam Mitchell-Banks, volunteer director of the new Alberta and Prairies chapter.

Mitchell-Banks was born in Yorkshire, England but grew up in Prince Rupert. She came to Calgary to study for her Bachelor of Commerce-Accounting degree, graduating in 1990. After earning her chartered accountant designation with KPMG, she moved to the client side with the corporate audit group at TransCanada.

Executive and management positions at other energy companies followed, including time as interim vice-president, corporate planning, with ATCO Energy Solutions. During this time she also enrolled in the executive development program at the Richard Ivey School of Business at University of Western Ontario.

She left the oilpatch as divisional vice-president, gas services with AltaGas to launch her own company, Optimize Consulting.

It’s her relationship with like-minded business people in Vancouver that persuaded her to take on the role of organizing the local British Canadian Business Association chapter.

Colin Davis is founding partner and chief operating officer of Optimize Consulting as well as board chair of BCBA, a not-for-profit society founded with the mission to bridge the Canadian and United Kingdom business communities.

Tony Morgan, a financial planner with the Danielson Group Wealth Management, is president and a founder of the association. Rupert Potter, a career diplomat who served as British Consul General in Vancouver, is a director.

Mitchell-Banks’ goal is to build up the association and grow its reach and impact.

She has the support of Caroline Saunders, the British Consul General in Calgary, who said she would find it useful to receive feedback from the local association on key trade issues like Brexit and the transition to a new UK-Canada bilateral trade agreement.

Mitchell-Banks is busy contacting prospective members and preparing for an inaugural meeting. Her other passions include Rotary International, with whom she served as president of Rotary Club of Calgary Centennial.

News and notes

Founded in Calgary in 1923, Sharp’s Audio Visual has been acquired by AVI-SPL. Over 94 years, Sharp’s grew to eight locations in six provinces. The merger will offer customers 24-hour support and new remote monitoring and management capabilities.

Brian Keating’s contribution to worldwide conservation has been recognized by the Calgary Zoo with the creation of the Brian Keating Conservation endowment. The $1-million endowment will support key conservation projects led by the zoo and is the result of donations and other funding sources Keating was involved with during his 30 years at the zoo. Th zoo will this year invest $3.6 million in conservation programs.

David Parker appears regularly in the Herald. Read his columns online at calgaryherald.com/business. He can be reached at 403-830-4622 or by email at info@davidparker.ca.

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